


Homecoming

by Gottahavemyncis



Series: Serendipity [6]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:35:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27203260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gottahavemyncis/pseuds/Gottahavemyncis
Summary: Have you ever wondered why Delilah’s surname, Fielding, is the same as Shannon’s maiden name? Here’s my explanation. “Homecoming” takes place in my Serendipity series, now #6 in the series that starts with “Heartbreak” and  follows #5, “After”. Features the Gibbs gang and Delilah Fielding’s father, my OC Charlie. See note inside. Rated T. Disclaimer is on my profile.
Relationships: Family - Relationship, Friendship - Relationship, Inclusion
Series: Serendipity [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/586993
Comments: 45
Kudos: 41





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> When Delilah Fielding was first introduced in Season 11, I was curious about her surname being the same as Gibbs’ first wife, Shannon Fielding Gibbs, wondering if the show writers would eventually mention a connection. I waited several years (!) but there’s nothing yet, so I’ve made my own connection for them. While Fielding is not an unusual surname, it’s not in the US current 100, yes I checked. Once I established the character of Mac (McKenzie) Fielding and his background in “Serendipity”, it was easy enough to bring in Delilah’s father. Unfortunately, I got sidetracked after I outlined this story and Charlie was introduced in “Notes in the Key of Life” instead of this one. So this version of Charlie is not quite the same one you’ve met in “Notes in the Key of Life”. And his wife’s name is Carol here. Hope you enjoy!  
> Also thanks to Emerald1, whose story: “Secret Agent Man” inspired me to explore the version of Delilah featured in this series.
> 
> Timeline: Following the events of “After”, during Ellie’s pregnancy with the McGees’ sixth child.

HOMECOMING

A Serendipity Story

Chapter One

Prologue

Tim frowned as he listened to Tony. He was relating news he’d heard from a friend who worked at the Department of Defense, news that involved Tim’s former girlfriend, Delilah Fielding, and her family. 

Delilah’s downward spiral continued after Tim found her cheating on him, leaving their apartment for the last time after she reluctantly repaid him the thousands of dollars she owed him. According to Tony’s source, her lover left her not long after, although not quickly enough to save his marriage. Shortly after he broke up with her, debt collectors began calling her at work.

She’d then moved to a DoD office in San Diego, CA, closer to her parents in Arizona, changed her phone number and kept it private as possible. Hoping to buy herself a little more time or perhaps genuinely hoping for help in paying off her debts, she contacted a credit counseling organization. 

As Tony had heard the story, Delilah didn’t understand why everything and everyone seemed to be against her. Her friends rallied behind her but they couldn’t pay her debts.

When Tony said that, Tim asked him how the friend knew so much and Tony shrugged, “Remember Ellie finding out through the Federal Agency grapevine that you left her because she cheated? I guess she has no shame or feels the world owes her. She told her friends and co-workers all of this!”

Unfortunately, he wasn’t done with the story. There was more trouble, Delilah decided that a child would ground her and eventually had a little girl she named Eleni. After four months, when Delilah decided the infant was too much trouble, her parents took her, eventually adopting her. That was followed by some sort of financial trouble with her parents. Then her mother died suddenly and her father was left to raise a young child, barely a toddler, by himself.

Eventually Delilah, banking on her award winning, excellent work for the DoD, requested a transfer to Dubai and was given it, including a generous transfer package. Selling nearly everything, she moved overseas, leaving behind the wreckage of her family. There she lived comfortably in a furnished apartment paid for by the DoD, with her transportation fully paid for by her employer, that due to her injuries from the attack at the Gala.

When Tony finally finished, Tim stared at him, appalled. “I can’t believe she did all that. I mean, I do believe it but it’s all so strange, beginning with the way she never had any money when we lived together – and she made a lot more than I did! She wasn’t that way before the Gala. She’s a totally different person now. Although she always loved designer clothes and shoes, before she was hurt she only bought what she could afford or waited for sales. And I can’t believe she ditched her baby! Benham Parsa did this to her and now it’s affected her family. Her poor dad!”

The two men talked about everything that had happened for a while. That night, Tim told Ellie and they decided to track down the Colonel’s address and send him a card with a note.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the reads and comments, they are much appreciated!

In his home near Sedona, Arizona, Delilah's father, retired USMC Colonel Charles (Charlie to his friends) Fielding, had been in varying degrees of panic and grief since his wife died. He'd quickly realized he couldn't care for little Eleni by himself. By now the little girl had lived with her adoptive parents for over a year, since Delilah decided she didn't like being responsible for an infant. Charlie was a hands-on daddy, he'd changed diapers, sung songs, told stories, been thrown up, peed and pooped on but his wife had always been there, too.

After Carol's funeral, he went to the minister of his church and was given some helpful advice. Within weeks, he'd found a childcare agency and, after a bit of trial and error, hired a nanny to help them. She lived in the house with them, used Carol's car and had two days off a week. Eleni liked her, Charlie liked her, she liked them. All was well and Charlie's panic slowly dissipated, although the grief still haunted him, for his wife and for the daughter who'd morphed into a seemingly uncaring, narcissistic being.

A few months later, Charlie realized that he and Eleni needed more family. The nanny was wonderful but if anything were to happen to him, Eleni would end up in foster care. Charlie had no false illusions that Delilah would lift a finger to help.

When he found a card and letter in his mail from Tim McGee, his daughter's former boyfriend, he felt better. Tim offered his condolences on the death of his wife and offered any help the Colonel might need. Although Charlie wondered how Tim knew what happened, he was reassured by the offer of friendship and help. Just knowing someone out there cared, someone who'd been part of his family for a little while and would extend a hand if needed, helped immensely.

Once he started to feel more confident, he gave himself a pep talk. He had family, relatives! He hadn't seen, heard from or talked with any of them in years, but some of them must still be out there in the world. And with that thought, he decided to find them.

Although he had no siblings, he did have cousins when he was growing up. His father, Fergus, was the 2nd of 4 brothers and that's where he started, looking for his uncles. While he remembered the family being close when he was a child, something happened between his mother and one of the aunts that drove a wedge between the brothers. He believed the trouble came from Aunt Jo but he never knew exactly and his father wouldn't talk about it.

While not a master of the internet, he'd learned how to use Google and other search engines from one of the neighbor kids, although the only things he usually searched for were sports scores and the news. Now he googled his uncles, starting with the two younger than his father, leaving the eldest uncle, husband of the difficult aunt, for last.

Charlie's grandmother, Jean Fielding, was a McKenzie by birth and each of her sons' names reflected some part of the McKenzie family. The oldest grandchild, was given the name McKenzie and Charlie's father was named Fergus, his grandfather's first name. The two younger brothers, Charlie's younger uncles were Arthur and Gordon, named for their mother's brothers and both had McKenzie as middle names as did Charlie's father. The middle names now helped in his searches.

Sadly, Charlie found obituaries for uncles Arthur and Gordon. He dug a little deeper to find their children, his cousins. However, Fielding is a not an unusual name and he was quickly lost in pages of listings for 'Jack Fielding', Uncle Arthur's son. When he noticed that there were more than 18 million results for Jack Fielding in the US, he closed out the search, laughing to himself. He'd certainly need more specific information before he tried that again!

Days later, he decided to look for Uncle Mac, the oldest brother of the four, certain there wouldn't be thousands of McKenzie Fieldings listed and then grimaced when there were a few million. Not as many as cousin Jack but enough to add more information, to narrow the search. He knew what year his father was born and that Mac was two years older. He also remembered the two brothers were born in Connecticut in a town beginning with a 'C' but did not remember the rest of the name. He found a list of towns for Connecticut and quickly spotted his quarry: Coventry. His father and his father's older brother Mac were born in Coventry, Connecticut. He added that to his search criteria along with his uncle's year of birth.

When the results popped onto his screen, one item immediately caught his attention, an article about the death of a convicted felon named Joann Fielding. Wondering about the connection between Uncle Mac and a convicted felon, he read the article and was shocked to find the dead woman, the dead convict, was his Aunt Jo. She was listed as the former wife of McKenzie Fielding. He shook his head and rolled his eyes at his failure to recognize the name 'Joann Fielding'. He'd never thought about 'Jo' being a nickname for another name. Of course, he'd been 10 years old last time he saw or thought of her.

He was puzzled when the article concluded with a statement from a "Family Spokesperson" saying no services would be held, although there was a list of suggested charities for donations if one so desired. He thought about the wording, family spokesperson. That indicated Uncle Mac had a family. Surely if it was someone speaking for him only, the article would have read Mr. Fielding's spokesperson or friend. Once again rolling his eyes at himself, he'd forgotten they had a baby with them last time he saw them, his cousin Shannon. Deciding that stress was the cause of his spotty memory and failure to connect the information with what he knew, he soldiered on.

Reading the article again, he noticed a reference to a magazine article that triggered Fielding's actions. There wasn't a link to it, which was unusual. Looking online, all he found was a reference to two ranches outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico, whose owners built housing for Evacuees.

He didn't find anything else of interest and finally he googled ranches within the county of Bernalillo, New Mexico, where Albuquerque was located, and smiled at the number of results, he could deal with that!

Looking at each systematically, from the top of the list, he smiled again when he reached an entry with the name of "La Serenidad". He liked the whimsical and peaceful feel to the name; he could imagine his uncle choosing it. The list of owners included a Mac Fielding and a Shannon Fielding Gibbs. He let out a small hurray, he'd found his uncle and his cousin Shannon. The name Gibbs sounded vaguely familiar but he was more concerned with his uncle and cousin.

He thought of calling or writing but decided that with the Joann debacles, past and present, it might be better if he just showed up. He'd take Eleni with him. Although it was a short flight from his home in Arizona, he'd drive the distance instead. It was only five hours and he'd rather have his car with him in case things didn't work out. He was sure that Eleni's nanny would be thrilled to have a week off with pay.

After carefully checking reviews for toddler friendly hotels in Albuquerque, Charlie booked a reservation. The night before he and Eleni left, he packed enough toys, books and DVDs to keep his little girl occupied, clothes for both of them and all the other paraphernalia required for young children. Early the next morning, he packed the car, showered and dressed before waking Eleni, who gave him a big toothy grin. After changing her diaper, she had breakfast while he ate his own, occasionally helping her. After he washed her face, hands, some of her hair, little Eleni had been very enthusiastic with her breakfast this morning, and got her dressed, he told her they were going for a ride. Her eyes lit up, she loved car rides. Charlie hoped she would love a five-hour car ride!

He'd forgotten how easily young children fall sleep in moving vehicles. His daughter fell asleep before they reached Flagstaff and I-40, the interstate highway they'd take all the way to Albuquerque. Passing Winslow about 90 minutes into their trek, Charlie laughed to himself. He'd planned to stop along here at a park in the town of Holbrooke but Eleni was still snoozing and he continued on their journey.

Finally stopping at a park in the city of Gallup, on the western edge of New Mexico, he woke her, afraid she wouldn't sleep that night. She loved the park and after she ran around on the lawn for several minutes, she gave him her sweetest smile, "Swing?" She loved swinging! He pushed her for fifteen minutes in a baby swing and then distracted her by pointing out a squirrel. Once out of the swing, she took off again and he was glad he could still keep up with her.

The truth was she didn't like to be too far from him or her nanny. That was probably not a good thing but the nanny believed Eleni would grow out of it. For now, he was confident that if he told her to stop or to run back to him, she would. He wasn't worried, there wasn't anyone else in the park and few cars drove by.

When he scooped her up, she squealed happily, giggling and calling him silly Papa. They sat on a blanket on the lawn for a snack and then it was time to hit the road again. After a diaper change, they left the park, more than halfway through their journey with only another two hours to go. Before Charlie started the car, he popped one of Eleni's favorite movies into the DVD player and she squealed again when the movie started. She sang along with the music, bouncing in her car seat, knowing some of the words and she announced the appearances of their favorite characters.

When the movie finished, he pressed the remote to play more of her favorite music and Eleni sang along happily. When she quieted, he peeked in the mirror and saw her looking out the window. She bounced a little in her seat when she saw a cow. "Moo, Papa, Moocow!"

"That's right, Eleni love, that was a cow."

"Piggies too?"

"I don't know, honey. Maybe."

A little while later she saw a horsie and that made her very happy. She was starting to doze off again when they reached Albuquerque city limits. Finding the hotel, Charlie parked in front and woke her again. "Come on sweet girl, this is where we're staying! We'll have lunch, a nap and then a swim."

"Pool?"

"Yes, in a pool. You and I will swim together."

She clapped her hands together, "Swim!"

Charlie laughed to himself, they swam nearly every day at home but it was still a treat to her. She knew how to hold her breath underwater, kick her legs and dog paddle, enough so that she would survive if she ever fell in.

Once they'd settled into their room, they ate the lunch brought from home. When Eleni was a little fussy, Charlie put another movie in for her to watch, knowing she'd fall asleep easier that way than if he said it was naptime.

They were in a suite with a bedroom and a sofabed in the outer room. Charlie set the movie up in the bedroom, thinking he'd make his phone call from the other room. Then when she fell asleep he'd put her in the crib provided by the hotel. She didn't need to sleep long, even a rest would do; however, he knew from experience that having a nap or rest in the hotel room now would make her more comfortable, the crib and the room already familiar, at bedtime that evening.

Now that they were in Albuquerque, he thought again about his decision to show up unannounced at the ranch. Calling and chatting with Uncle Mac first, or leaving a message for him, felt like a better idea. Then, if things didn't work out, he and Eleni would visit the parks and zoo in the city, maybe see more of the sights of New Mexico, swim in the hotel pool and drive home in a couple of days.

Finding a phone book in the desk, Charlie frowned when there wasn't a number for Mac Fielding. Then he looked under the name of the ranch, which did have a phone number listed. Smiling, he punched in the numbers and listened to the ring tones. A woman answered, "Hello, Rancho La Serenidad."

"Hello, may I please speak with Mac Fielding?" As soon as the words are out of his mouth, he knew he'd made a mistake. No doubt the media had been calling since Aunt Jo's death. Quickly he said, "I'm not a journalist or in the media, I'm his nephew Charlie, Charlie Fielding. His brother Fergus was my father."

The voice sounded relieved, "Thank you for clarifying, Mr. Fielding. Mac's not here right now. Is this your cell phone? I'll be happy to give him the number and a message that you called."

"That would be wonderful, thanks. He can verify it's me, or you can, I'm in Albuquerque, staying at the Embassy Suites with my daughter."

After adopting Eleni, he and Carol hadn't been sure how to refer to her, as their granddaughter or daughter. Ultimately, they'd decided to follow the legal document which made them the adoptive parents, not grandparents, of Eleni Mae Fielding. They'd added her middle name, which had also been Carol's maternal grandmother's name. Carol wanted Eleni to know as she grew up that she was truly a part of their family and hoped that giving her the name of her own grandmother would help provide a strong sense of belonging.

"Oh, you're in town, wonderful! I'll let him know."

"Thank you!"

He disconnected, exhaling a huge sigh of relief. He'd made the call, now it was up to his uncle. Relieved, he pulled out his tablet, starting a round of his favorite game.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

At the ranch, Liz called Mac who was over at The Grove playing checkers with old Henry. She told him about the caller and there was silence for several seconds before Mac made a happy noise, saying, "Charlie, my nephew Charlie! My goodness, he's older than Shannon! I'll come home to call him, Liz, thank you for letting me know. I haven't seen him since he was 10 or 11!"

Both smiling, they disconnected and Mac explained to the Groves' first permanent tenants, Henry and Beth, before hopping onto the ATV for the short trip back over the bridge. Returning to the guesthouse he and Richard were sharing until all the babies got older, he decided to call Charlie at the hotel. That would verify that this was his nephew, or at least that someone using the name Charlie Fielding was staying at the hotel.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

A dozing Charlie nearly fell out of his chair when the desk phone rang. He answered, "Hello?"

"Charlie? This is Mac. Liz said you called. I'm so happy to hear your voice after all these years! How are you?"

"I'm doing fine, Uncle Mac and it's good to hear your voice, too. How are you?"

"Wonderful, kiddo. Are you here on business or pleasure and how long can you stay? Got time for a trip out to the ranch?"

"Yes, we do. Eleni, that's my little daughter, and I are here for several days. And it's pleasure, Uncle, I'm retired."

"Good for you! How old is Eleni?"

"She's 18 months."

"Just the two of you?"

"Yes sir, my wife and I adopted her but then Carol became ill and died shortly after the baby's first birthday."

"Oh Charlie, I'm so sorry to hear that. And now you're raising Eleni by yourself?"

"We have a live-in nanny but yes, Eleni and I are each other's family."

"Not any more, Charlie. I have a large family and you are part of us."

Charlie had to swallow before he could say, "Thank you, Uncle. I worry about Eleni, don't want her to grow up in foster care if something happens to me."

"You can let that worry go now, son." Mac looked at his watch. "Is Eleni napping now?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

His uncle laughed, "We have a lot of children here, kiddo. I have 6 grown grandkids and 10 great-grands. I'm familiar with nap times!"

"That's wonderful! To be honest, Uncle, I've been worried about the trouble between you and Dad. I've never known what happened and wasn't sure if it would extend to me or not."

Mac sighed, "My wife and your mother couldn't stand each other. And your father and I felt obligated to stand up for our wives although with what I know now, your mother's instincts were right. But your dad and I didn't let that separate us, Charlie. You didn't know that?"

"No, I didn't. We never talked about it and then I joined the Marines when I was 18. I eventually had my own family and lost track of what happened with the Fieldings."

"I was in the hospital for back surgery when your dad died, so I couldn't make it to his funeral. Made it to both of my younger brothers' funerals, though, Art and Gordon. It's hard for me to believe that I'm the only one left and I'm the oldest! So, a Marine, huh? Thank you for your service. You'll do fine here; my son-in-law is a Marine as is one of my grandsons, one of my granddaughters-in-law and her father, who lives here too. You might even know one of them, wouldn't that be something?"

"It sure would be!"

"Let's see, it's 1400 now, you think Eleni will be awake by 1500?"

Charlie grinned at the use of military time. "I'll wake her at 1430, she slept most of the drive here and I want her to sleep tonight."

"Good idea. Now, let me give you directions to get here. Do you have GPS on your car?"

"I do."

"Makes it easier, here's the address." Charlie wrote it down.

"It's about a 20-minute drive from town. Quail Hill Road is a little curvy so if Eleni gets carsick you might want to give her a soda cracker or two. We always have them available for Tim, my grandson, and his kids."

"Thanks for the tip."

"Oh and bring your swim gear and plan to stay for dinner. We'll eat outside tonight."

"You know that already?"

Mac laughs, "Everyone will want to meet you two and to fit us all we either eat in the shelter or outside. The shelter is fine when it's too hot or chilly out but we're more relaxed outside."

"How long were you in?"

"Fourteen weeks, although the last couple of weeks we were allowed into the house."

"Wow! We live in Sedona and were in for 5 weeks."

"Terrible thing, thank God we're alive! All right, I'll expect to see you in about an hour then. Call me when you see the grocery store on Quail Hill Road and I'll meet you at the gate."

"Will do!" As he hung up the receiver, Charlie felt better than he had since Carol's death. An enormous burden had been lifted from him and he felt a lightness he thought might be a combination of relief and happiness. Eleni would be loved and cared for; she'd have a family if something happened to him. They both had family now. He made a note to set up a guardianship for her in his will. He hadn't changed anything since shortly after he and Carol disowned Delilah. Now he could list his cousin Shannon and probably other folks too.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

An hour later, Eleni munched on her soda cracker as they drove around the curves Uncle Mac mentioned. It really wasn't too bad but Charlie wouldn't want to drive it for the first time in the dark. When he saw the sign up ahead for the grocery store, he called the number Mac gave him.

"Hi Charlie, I'm just getting to the gate. I hear your car now."

He smiled when he saw the sign for the ranch and turned in as the gate opened. On an ATV, which astonished Charlie considering how old his uncle must be by now, Mac waved at him to follow. They were both decades older but Charlie thought he'd still know him anywhere. They parked at the side of a large house, next to a bright yellow and black Challenger and three pickup trucks.

Mac gave Charlie a quick hug before helping him extricate Eleni and the diaper bag. Walking up to the front porch, Charlie set Eleni down and she immediately started to explore. Mac put his hands on Charlie's shoulders and beamed at him.

"Oh, you're a Fielding all right! You were a mirror image of your dad when you were a kid and you still are! Welcome home, Charlie."

Charlie bit the inside of his mouth to keep from crying. He was nearly 70 years old for Pete's sake! Seemingly reading his mind, his uncle smiles, "It's the stress, son; feel free to let go."

He's not ready to do that yet. Eleni's back with him now and she hugs his leg. "Papa ok?"

"Yes, sweetie!"

Eleni gives Mac her best toothy grin, "I Eleni."

"Pleased to meet you, Eleni." Mac looked at Charlie, "You're Papa?"

Charlie nodded and Mac continued, "The other kids, whether we're related or not, call me Grandpa or Grandpa Mac. She's welcome to that if you'd like."

"Thanks; that might be less confusing in the long run." Leaning down, he picked up his little girl, "Eleni, this is Grandpa Mac."

Eleni nods seriously, reminding Mac of Brynie when she was this age, and distinctly says, "Grandpa Mac."

"That's right, sweetheart!"

"Papa an' Grandpa Mac."

"Yes!"

She chortled and both men grinned.

Mac picked up the diaper bag, "Let's get inside to the air conditioning. Then we can change and get to the pool before the big kids get home from school."

"How many people live here, Uncle?"

Mac chuckled, "There were 84 of us in the shelter. One of the women had some health issues and had to be extracted by helicopter; she's in town. The Bishops, the in-laws of my 3rd eldest grandson, went home to Oklahoma or moved to town and Taos – 16 of them. Let's see, the Vances moved to town, that's another 6, the Carters moved to London, that's 2, Kelly and Rob, my two youngest grandkids, live in town, that's another 2 and Mateo is in college in Santa Fe, that's 3. Ned, Barry and the rest of the boys moved into town, except for Bill, that's another 4. Oh and the Slaters, that's 8. That leaves about 44 still here but I'm forgetting Ana, who joined us from Bacia, she's also family. Let's say 44 full-time, our friend Pete drives a moving van, he lives here when he's not working.

"We're pretty well spread out though. The house is 3 stories and has 12 bedrooms plus assorted other places to sleep. We have a bunch of guesthouses and the barn has 35 bunkrooms. All of us who don't have babies in the nursery moved out of the house when Mackie, that's Tim and Ellie's youngest, was born in November. There's also a community of seven brand new homes where several of my grandkids and other family members live, that's where our pool is."

"Forty-four people here? Are you all related?"

Mac laughs, "Pete, Bill and Lu claim they're the only ones who aren't related in some way. Although Lu helped raise four of my grandkids and Bill was part of their group so I'd have to say Pete is really the only one. Between the Gibbses, Hubbards, Mallards, Cranes, Barnes, spouses, kids, in-laws and godparents, yes."

"Gibbs? I saw that name when I was looking online for you. It sounds familiar."

"That's my son-in-law, Shannon's husband, their son and his family and their daughter, who's a newlywed and will continue using Gibbs professionally. She and her husband are both doctors working at the same hospital, and the youngest of Shannon's adopted sons is also a doctor at the same hospital, which is confusing enough as he and Kelly are both pediatricians! Now, I don't remember whether you and Shannon have seen each other since she was a baby."

"I don't think so. The last time I remember seeing you I think I was ten and she was on a blanket on the floor trying to turn over."

"And now she's Mom to 6 kids and Nonny to 10 grandkids."

"Wow." Charlie took a deep breath, "When I was looking online for you, I saw an article about Joann."

Mac shakes his head, "Horrible woman, heartless criminal, murderer, kidnapper and traitor."

"Sounds like you went through an ordeal, sorry that happened."

"Thanks, Charlie. Five years ago when I learned of the first crime she committed back in 1977, I was shocked. It's taken me years to understand how I could have lived with a criminal for two decades and not known."

"She must have been a talented liar."

"Oh yeah. After Shannon was grown, we split. Best thing I ever did."

The two men were inside now and Mac showed Eleni the playroom. Lia, Henry and Ricky were in there with Liz, playing in a larger, stronger version of their old kiddie corral, and Eleni squirmed to get down.

Mac nodded, calling to Liz, watching the kids and the toddlers, "Liz, Lia, Henry, Ricky, come meet new family."

The three toddlers tumbled over each other like puppies and Eleni chortled again. Mac grinned, "Liz, like you to meet my nephew Charlie Fielding. Charlie, Liz Crane, godmother to my grandkids."

She smiled, "Welcome, Charlie. I'm glad to meet you in person."

He returned the smile, shaking her hand. "Happy to meet you and thanks for not hanging up on me when I asked for Mac."

Mac thought for a minute before asking, "Charlie, what do you want to be called by the kids? Feel free to be Uncle, Mr. Charlie or Papa. Whatever you select will end up being your name by all the kids."

Charlie laughs, "Then Uncle Charlie is fine."

"All right. Lia, Henry, Ricky, this is Uncle Charlie and this is Eleni."

Lia smiled and leaning forward, gave Eleni a little kiss. Eleni giggled happily. Ricky, not to be outdone, also kissed her and this time Eleni squealed. Then Lia held her arms up and Charlie picked her up so she could kiss him too. Ricky wanted up, too, and Charlie picked him up for a kiss. Still shy around strangers, Henry hugged his leg.

"Henry's a little shy sometimes."

"He's fine, aren't you, champ?"

Henry nodded with a little smile.

Charlie turned to Mac, "Are all three yours?"

"No, Lia and Henry belong to my grandson Tim and his wife Ellie; they have five kids with another on the way. Right now, Henry's a foster child but they hope to adopt him. Ricky belongs to Jimmy and Breena Palmer, who are family but not blood related. Breena's parents, sisters and their families sheltered with us; now they live in town. Jimmy is Ducky Mallard's unofficial son, no blood relation and one of the five doctors in the family.

"Right before we evacuated, my granddaughter Sarah discovered her blood relatives and her godparents. One of them turned out to be Ducky's first love. They're married now. And Ducky is a retired Medical Examiner who worked with my son-in-law for many years. Jimmy was his assistant. That's the original connection."

"Ok, I've got that but I don't understand about your granddaughter."

Liz patted his arm, "She's the adopted adult child of Shannon and her husband. The easiest way to think of it, Charlie, is that many of us are chosen family. For example, I'm really only godmother to Tim and Sarah; I didn't meet Geordie, Rob, Tony and Kelly until shortly before we evacuated. There are many stories involved and believe me, I know I haven't heard them all yet. We are a complex family."

Mac snorted before he launched into an abbreviated version of Tim's kidnapping, discovery and the adoptions of his siblings.

Charlie followed as best he could, at the end he understood what Liz meant. "Wow!"

Mac laughs, "That's part of the reason we stick with one name for the kids, much easier!"

"I guess so!"

"Now, let's get changed and get over to the p-o-o-l."

Charlie nodded and reached for Eleni. "Come on sweetie, let's get you changed."

With a smile Liz said, "There are changing tables in the nursery, on the second floor. Mac, if you'll watch the kids, I'll take Charlie and Eleni upstairs."

"Sure, thanks, Liz."

Liz took the diaper bag and the three walked up the staircase. Charlie's mouth dropped at the number of cribs in the room and Liz smiled. "Mac hasn't told you about all the new babies? Ricky, Henry and Lia nap in here if they're at the ranch with us during the week, plus Henry and Lia's little brother Mackie and their four new cousins."

"I don't know which impresses me more, the size of the family or the organizational skills this place must take."

Liz laughed heartily. "You'll know the answer when you meet Tim, then. He's the organizational wizard. He's the one who heard about the threat, gathered all of us, bought the shelter, had it installed, and organized everything."

"And he's Mac's biological grandson."

"Yes. And you'll know as soon as you see him. And four of the kids."

"Four?"

"Lia's adopted as is Ricky."

"Oh, like Eleni. My late wife and I adopted her when our daughter Delilah had too many problems to keep her. I need to let all this seep through my thick skull."

She smiled, "Bit overwhelming?" Something is tickling her brain; something she was told about a woman named Delilah. She doesn't remember who she is to their group but she does know it wasn't a pleasant story.

"Yes!"

Still on the changing table, Eleni kicked her legs, Papa said they were going swimming, let's get to it! When she was ready, she consented to going with Liz while Papa ducked out to the car for his bag and swim gear.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Notes:

1) Back in Chapter 2, Tim sent a condolence card to Colonel Fielding, signing it Tim McGee. That should have been an e-card sent through email; Ive fixed it. Thanks for pointing that out.

2) For those who questioned why Charlie wouldn't know Tim (aside from the above): 1) He hasn't seen him yet! Tim is not at the ranch when Charlie arrives and 2) The 'photo' that started the whole mess with Joann Fielding, the one with the Gibbses, including Tim, Ty and Grandpa Mac, ('After' , Ch 13 if you want to re-read) is not online. Charlie found photos of the two ranches and the Evacuee homes online but no photos of people. And when he found the names of the owners of La Serenidad, one of them was Timothy J. Gibbs but he would have no way of knowing that was his former almost son-in-law Timothy McGee.

McPenname and Smartkid37, hope you both enjoy and thanks for your help, whether you knew you were helping or not (smirks), it's always a treat chatting with you. Hugs to you both and to RR for all her support.

Thanks to everyone who's reading, following, favoriting, commenting, I always love hearing from you! And thanks for your patience while fan fic net fixed their system problems. And now on with our story!

* * *

Chapter Four

Tim tried very hard not to fidget or look at the time. After all, it was Thursday, there was still all day tomorrow to work. He was usually motivated, he had plenty of work to occupy him and he enjoyed his work. He was restless this week and he didn't know why. Idly he wondered if Ellie had enough vacation days to visit Tahlequah. Barb and Jerry had come up a few weeks ago to meet Henry in person but it wasn't the same as having the whole family there. They all missed John, Jazzy, George, Eileen and their kids. He was also impatient for them to meet Henry in person.

He settled down again. He knew he could leave early, nobody would say anything and he certainly worked enough hours of his own time to justify an hour here or there. However, his team didn't necessarily know about those extra hours and he didn't think it would be fair to them.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Back at the ranch, the three adults took the four littles to the pools, which were nicely shaded this time of day. Liz set Ricky in the wading pool, she was uneasy with the toddlers being in the big pool without their parents. Charlie followed her example and Eleni happily splashed in the water. Henry climbed in by himself while Lia tugged on Mac's shirt. "Big pool, Grandpa."

"Not without your mom and dad, sweetie."

She stuck her lower lip out but once she was in the wading pool she forgot about her sulk.

Liz tilted her head, saying to Charlie, "Lia and Ricky can hold their breath underwater but I'm not comfortable with them in the big pool unless their parents are around. Henry's been here nearly two months, he's had some lessons but he's not quite ready yet and he's not comfortable in the big pool."

Charlie nodded, "I don't blame you for your discomfort. Eleni can hold her breath and dogpaddle but I'd rather she stick with the wading pool, too."

Mac patted his shoulder. "Must be tough, raising her by yourself."

His nephew made a noise, saying, "It was difficult enough when Carol and I brought her home from Delilah's. My daughter thought a child would ground her, keep her head straight and she wouldn't listen to us when we told her how much work it is raising a child, especially a baby. On her own and in Delilah's condition. Oh, you wouldn't know about that." He filled Mac in on the explosion at the Gala and Delilah's injuries. Liz was sitting cross legged in the wading pool, playing with the kids.

He sighed, "She had a lot of support, we were there and her boyfriend was with her every day. He's a great guy, a good man. She seemed all right at first, had some counseling, and learned how to live in the wheelchair. We were thankful she was alive when so many others died. She was determined to prove she could still do her job and moved to Dubai to do that. Her boyfriend stuck with her. He flew over there a few times, a long and expensive trip, to see her. Finally, she moved home and they moved in together. He called to tell us he was about to propose. He went home early one day and found her in bed with another guy. He took his stuff and left.

"Delilah, who we believed was crazy about this guy, shrugged it off. The other guy she was sleeping with was married, just a fun adventure for her. After that, she kept spiraling downward. She managed to keep her job but she became a hoarder, mostly shoes and designer clothing. We loaned her money several times until we realized we were never going to get it back. We have a decent retirement income and savings, but not enough to support her bad habits.

"Then about three years ago she decided she wanted a baby. She picked a sperm donor before discovering she's infertile. She went looking for egg donors, there's a national bank for them now, a bit like sperm banks but not quite. Anyway, she put all the pieces together and hired a gestational carrier. Somehow she had the money to pay for all that but not her rent.

"Anyway, she had the baby and Eleni was four months old when Delilah came unglued, called us in hysterics, saying she couldn't handle being a mother and she was placing Eleni in foster care. This was our only grandchild; she was always going to be our only grandchild, and a defenseless baby. We drove up to San Diego and brought Eleni home with us, adopting her.

"Then Delilah asked us for more money. When we said no, she'd never paid us back a penny of what we'd already loaned her, she left in a fit of anger. Days later, my bank called me to see if it was really me or Carol online transferring most of our savings account to another bank. We've been members there for over 20 years and neither of us had ever done any kind of banking online. So when someone set up an ID and password and started to transfer money, our bank's cyber security got suspicious. They said the "IP" address, whatever that is, showed that it was someone out of state. Luckily, they were able to stop the transaction before it was finalized so we weren't out any money. In the meantime, when we questioned Dee about it, she didn't deny it, instead blaming us for lack of support.

"At that point, we realized there wasn't anything else we could do for her but practice 'tough love'. She'd become a stranger to us and so we legally disowned her, although that really only removed her from our Wills. We were both afraid that she'd taken out loans or credit cards in our name or that her next step would be doing that. And we were right to worry, we had a full credit check run and found a credit card that had been created two weeks before, with charges of $1,800. Our attorney had the card canceled and the charge removed, easily done within the 30 day limit. We pay our credit bills in full every month so there weren't any balances and if there had been, they would have been Delilah's and we would have disputed them. I'll have to continue to monitor the balances and the credit card company is monitoring too but that's fine if it saves me headaches and money in the long run. We thought about canceling our cards but she's a talented enough hacker that she would find any new cards we acquired.

"Anyway, a few months after all that, Carol was diagnosed with cancer and started treatment, but then died from a blood clot to her lungs, one of the side effects of the treatment. I had help from friends, neighbors and folks from my church and eventually I hired a live-in nanny, but I worried about something happening to me and my little girl being put in foster care."

While he was talking, Liz remembered it was Sarah who told her about the woman who cheated on Tim the day he planned to propose to her. The woman's name was Delilah but as she still didn't know for sure that it was the same woman, she wondered if anything should be done. She sent a quick text to Claire.

A few minutes later, Mac smiled as the Hubbards joined them. "Jim, Claire, like you to meet my nephew Charlie Fielding. And the new little one in the wading pool is his daughter Eleni."

They welcomed Charlie and sat with the others. After a few minutes, Liz said, "Will you three please excuse Claire and me?"

Jim nodded, he'd been briefed by his wife, "Sure, we'll watch the kids."

The two women walked to the Cranes' new home. As soon as they were inside, Liz told Claire the story. Claire nodded her head, "I've heard that story; it was pretty bad for Tim. But, Liz, the name could be a coincidence. I don't remember anything about the woman being a paraplegic."

Liz was pacing, "I don't either. Then do you think we should do anything at all?"

Claire shook her head, "No, not unless we know for sure it was her. Otherwise, we've stirred the pot for no reason. I haven't seen Sarah today, have you?"

"She's in the ranch house with the kids, doing some writing."

"Then let's not bother her. She's had so little time to write since the twins arrived!"

Liz agreed, "I don't know how Tim does it and he's got another book coming out soon!"

Claire shook her head, "Liz, we're missing something obvious here! If Jethro and Shannon know, we can be sure Mac also knows and he would have said something if it was the same person!"

"You're right, let's just let it go then."

Rolling their eyes at each other, the two women returned to the wading pool party. Jim looked at Claire who smiled.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Having heard through the ranch grapevine about the new arrival, Sarah sat in the library of the ranch house, trying to figure out what was bothering her. She wrote the name Charlie Fielding down and then stared at it. Then she added 'Colonel' in front of Charlie. Finally, she called someone she was sure would know the answer.

Tony frowned at the caller ID on his phone. The kids were next door at the daycare and Maggie was here at the office. Breathing deep, he took the call.

"Sis? Anything wrong?" He looked at Bob's desk, remembering he was in the lab, discussing the forensics of a cold case with one of the techs.

"Nobody is sick, dying or in danger. But a situation has come up that's bothering me, I can't get it out of my brain. It might involve Tim."

"Does Tim know? Or Ellie?"

"No. Is Ellie close, can she hear you?"

"No, she's in another part of the building. Ok, I'm in a private room now. What's up?"

Sarah explained the sudden arrival of Mac's nephew, a man in his late 60s named Charlie Fielding. "Tony, his daughter is named Delilah and she left a child he's now raising although I don't think it can be Tim's."

Tony was too shocked to reply for several seconds. "You said 'left'. And are you sure it's the same Delilah?"

"How many Delilah Fieldings do you think there are? Wait, I'll check." She gulped, "Oh, there's over 600,000 results on Google."

Tony sighed, "All right, let's assume, because this is our family, that this is Tim's former girlfriend. Now tell me what you mean by 'left'?"

Briefly she told him what had happened with Delilah wanting a child, giving the baby to her parents, trying to steal money from them and then transferring out of the country.

"Wow! How old is the kid?"

Liz told him and Tony sighed in relief. "She's not Tim's then, she'd have to be about Teddy Palmer's age." He shook his head, "I was almost as shocked about her cheating on Tim as he was. I liked Wheels; they were dating before the explosion that injured her; she helped with a case, that's how they met. I met her a few weeks later. The only reason Tim wasn't hurt or killed when Delilah was injured is that we realized the terrorist was going to bomb the Gala and called to warn him, have him start evacuating people. Cell reception was lousy so he walked outside to take the call and that's when everything exploded."

"I remember all that now, Tony. Thank God Tim wasn't hurt."

"As it was, the force of the bomb blew him to the ground, knocked the breath out of him for a few minutes. Anyway, I thought the two of them were good together, the real deal. So did Tim and Boss. I remember him saying one time when Tim was in Dubai visiting her that he thought Tim might be looking for a job over there and he wouldn't blame him. Wheels moved home instead, but yeah, it was good and it was serious."

He told the story of the day Tim flew home from LA and he flew out to Italy, their breakfast together and picking up the ring. "You know the rest. And my flight hadn't even left yet, that's how quickly everything fell apart for him. He was devastated. I'll tell him and then we'll tell Ellie. I don't want either one of them meeting this guy until they know. Thank you for taking care of him this way, now I have to go. See you later, love you, Sis."

Before he could call Tim, his phone rang with a call from Dispatch, with a triple homicide, three Navy Petty Officers, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. While his junior called Bob and started looking for flights, Tony sent Maggie a text they'd be in Canada for a triple murder and to please call Sarah at some point. With seats available on a flight if they hurried, the field team nearly flew from the office with their gear and go bags. Their travel crime scene kit was already in the agency sedan assigned to them.

Maggie spent the afternoon in meetings and calls with her contacts. By the time she saw Tony's text, she was in the elevator to the parking garage, on her way to pick up their babies from the daycare center.


	5. Chapter 5

Please, everyone...remain safe and well. Positive thoughts and prayers for those in Turkey and Greece affected by last week's earthquake and to those affected by the hurricanes/tropical storms here in the U.S. No fires or smoke for California, it's snowed in the mountains and there's been rain, YAY! Sending hugs to all, just because.

* * *

Chapter Five

Sitting in first class, the only seats available on both this flight and their connecting flight, Tony realized the aircraft wasn't moving yet and called Tim. When there was no answer, he started to leave a message when one of the flight attendants told him to turn the phone off immediately and then stood there until he did so. Asking if he could text, she said yes, but only by using wi-fi when the service was available.

That's when Tony decided there wasn't anything more he could do and hoped Maggie had time to call Sarah and tell Tim or Ellie what was happening or that Sarah called their brother directly. Looking at the time, he winced and then took a deep breath, held it and then exhaled. He did this a few times until he found some calm. His thoughts were still chaotic though, mostly along the line of why the frackin' universe kept playing havoc with his little brother.

Bob Chalmers, his SFA and brother-in-law, leaned over, "Everything okay, Tony?"

"Yeah, it is, Bob, thanks. Had a call from Sari about some new relative who showed up at the ranch today but we're here, not there so there's nothing we can do about it."

"Oh, Mac's nephew, yeah, I heard a little about that."

The two of them shook their heads, there was always something going on at the ranch, and then settled back for the first leg of the journey, from Albuquerque to Dallas-Fort Worth. There, they'd have a 90 minute layover before boarding their Air Canada flight to Calgary. They wouldn't arrive until after dark but on the way to the airport Tony had contacted the local police, who had already canvassed the crime scene but agreed to continue guarding it and to have flood lights brought to the scene for the NCIS team. After many photos had been taken, the bodies had been removed to the coroner's office but the autopsies wouldn't be started until they'd had a chance to view the victims.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

As he left the office for the day, Tim walked over to the daycare while Ellie drove the van over. They gathered Mackie and his things and then rounded up Ty and Bryn. They'd started school last week and both of the older kids had homework, worksheets they'd already completed. Mackie was there to socialize with toddlers his own age.

Ty handed over one of their pool towels that had gone on walkabout during Day Camp. Now it had finally surfaced, washed, folded and returned with a note of apology from one of the other parents. Tim chuckled, "Thanks, son! That was good of them to return it to us. Guess they finally saw the tag, huh?"

They laughed at that as the junior Gibbses routinely put tags with their name on beach towels, toys, anything that might go astray.

Ellie drove and Tim was puzzled when she pulled into the parking lot of their favorite grocery store. She looked at him, "Grandpa asked for extra chicken and vanilla bean ice cream."

"Oh yeah, thanks, Hon!"

She and the boys remained in the nice cool van while Tim and Bryn hurried in to buy the chicken and ice cream. Brynie thought it was a funny combination until her dad told her about chicken and waffles. She wrinkled her nose at that and Tim laughed, admitting he'd never tried the combination.

Out on the back porch of the ranch house with the twins, Sarah made a face when she saw Tim and Ellie's van go by. She certainly hoped that Tony or Maggie had contacted Tim about the new relative. Bob had sent a text that they were on their way to Canada for a case and the timing of that text seemed very close to her chat with Tony. She sighed, she should have just called Tim herself!

Entering their house, the junior Gibbs family found a note that Lia and Henry were with Grandpa, Liz and the Hubbards at the pool with the new cousins. Wondering when new relatives had popped up and realizing they might be the reason for the extra groceries, they changed into their swim stuff and walked over to the pool.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Charlie was enjoying the water, playing with Eleni, Lia, Henry and Ricky. They'd moved to the big pool when the rest of the Palmers arrived. Ricky wanted out so he could kiss his mommy and daddy and once he was out, Lia and Henry followed him. With Jimmy and Breena there, the other adults were more amenable to the youngsters moving to the big pool.

The littles all had small floats that their adults pulled around, although Lia and Ricky knew how to swim. Eleni copied them, grinning at Papa, she was learning new stuff! He said that was fine, as long as he was there with her.

The adults traded off watching the kids while the others swam laps. Henry watched Eleni watching the other kids and followed her actions. He'd been hesitant with the big water thing that wasn't a bath but the other kids liked it. Although Henry was very happy and secure with his family, he was still a cautious little boy and was not yet sure whether he liked the big water. He liked the little water, meaning the wading pool, as he could sit in it without it covering all of him but the big water was new, very different and scary.

A large van pulled up to one of the houses on the cul-de-sac and Mac grinned, "That's Tim, Ellie and the rest of their kids. After school, Ty and Brynie are bused to a daycare center that's next to their parents' office. And the center has three other babies who are Mackie's age, Tim and Ellie like him to have that socialization. Otherwise, Lia, Henry and Ricky are older and the new babies are too young to play with."

Charlie nodded, that made sense. It was his turn to swim and Liz told him to take advantage because the pool would be full in a few minutes. Smiling, he swam the length of the pool underwater and back several times, surfacing near the steps to see a familiar face kissing Lia and Henry. Shocked, he stood in the water. He must be wrong; this couldn't be, it seemed impossible.

Mac noticed Charlie had surfaced and said, "Charlie, like to introduce you to my grandson Timothy and his wife Eleanor, although we call them Tim and Ellie. Kids, like you to meet my nephew Charlie Fielding."

Tim had a smile on his face, starting to look up from the kids as his grandfather introduced him to…who? He was still holding Lia and Henry and nearly dropped them. He carefully put them on the deck, holding Lia's arm so she wouldn't scoot right back into the pool. He knew Henry would stay with him or Ellie.

When he looked back again, the man was still there, his mouth as wide open as Tim thought his must be. "Grandpa, what? Colonel? You're who, what?"

Charlie was still staring, his mouth open. Liz took Eleni in her arms. "Let's go dry off for a bit, Eleni, while your papa talks with Uncle Tim." She felt terrible, apparently Mac either hadn't remembered the Delilah mess or hadn't known about it after all. She felt she owed both Tim and Charlie an apology!

Eleni was prepared to fuss, she didn't like it when Papa was upset. Ricky patted her on the arm, saying that she'd get a cookie and she brightened.

Mac looked back and forth, bewildered. Claire joined Liz and Eleni and they walked toward the Cranes' home.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

On her way into the ranch, Maggie stopped when she saw Sarah on the back porch of the ranch house and rolled the window down, calling out to ask her about the text from Tony and if she and the twins would like to join them at the pool. Sarah shook her head, signing that the thing from Tony was old news now, not to worry and that the twins had been fussy but were now peaceful, Sarah didn't want to 'rock the boat' as it were. Maggie waved to her as she continued to their home, smiling and then frowning in surprise as she spotted Claire and Liz with an unfamiliar little girl. Arin also looked at her with interest, "Look, Mommy, a new girl!"

"I see, sweetie. Let's stop and meet her, shall we?"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Still stunned and wondering when the Colonel had arrived, why no one had said anything to him or Ellie about expecting him, Tim turned to his wife, still working to find his words, "Ellie, this is Colonel Charles Fielding, Delilah's father and apparently a relative of Mac's."

Although in almost as much shock as her husband, Ellie noticed his reference to his grandfather as 'Mac' rather than 'Grandpa' and knew he was upset. His extreme pallor was another clue. She too wondered why no one had called to let at least one of them know. Family guests like this would normally be planned for, where he'd stay, whether to introduce him to the entire family right away or start with just those on the ranch, or even, in this case, with Mac and the Gibbses . She thought about Mac's request that they stop for additional food for dinner. Either he'd forgotten, or perhaps had forgotten the date of arrival. This just didn't fit into what had become their routine regarding overnight guests, especially family. She thought about who was home today. Her in-laws were still away but Sarah was home and she certainly knew the Delilah story. She thought Liz and Claire did, too. Oh well, too late now.

Maggie had hurried over with the baby and Arin, and heard what Tim said to Ellie. When she saw that Tim was upset, she thought she could shed some light on why Tim had apparently been blindsided by whatever Mac said and whoever this person was.

Now she decided to speak up, "Tim, Ellie, I think Sarah must have called Tony. But they got called out to a case in Canada and had to run to make their flight. He texted me to call Sarah but I didn't see the text until we were on our way home."

Tim sent her such a grateful look that she wanted to hug him. Ellie smiled, relieved.

Pushing aside his shock and all the other emotions that were churning around inside him, Tim reached out to take his wife's hand, "Colonel Fielding, this is my wife, Ellie Bishop, and our children, Mackie the baby, Brynie and Tyler. I see you've already met Henry and Lia."

Mac knew the story of the former girlfriend but had never heard the woman's name and still hadn't made the connection with what Tim said to Ellie about Charlie, Colonel Fielding, he'd said, being someone's father and apparently related. Now he looked at his grandson, noticing he was pretty upset. He hated seeing his Tim upset like this. "Do you two know each other?"

"Yes. He's the father of my former girlfriend. The one I broke up with shortly before meeting you."

Remembering what Tim had walked in on, although not the woman's name, Mac's eyes grew wide and he winced, sorry that both men had been blindsided.

Charlie shook his head, "It's all right, Uncle Mac. It's a shock to us both. Timothy, I had no idea, I promise you. I came here to see my uncle, I had no idea you were here, that you're related to Uncle Mac. Delilah's not here with me, she's in Dubai. I found Uncle Mac through the list of ranch owners online – and I did see a Timothy but it was Timothy J. Gibbs, not Timothy McGee."

Tim took a deep breath, "It was never - you and Carol did nothing wrong and when it happened I remember wishing I could keep you two, I hated losing you. You're right; this has been a shock for both of us." He frowned, looking around, no one had mentioned Carol Fielding. Then he remembered that she'd died and he'd sent the Colonel a card, an e-card, easier as he hadn't known the Fieldings' address.

"I'm so sorry about Carol, she was such a great person."

"Thank you, Tim and thank you for the card. I miss her every day."

Shaking hands, both men relaxed a little and then Tim managed a smile, "So, are we related?"

"I guess we are! I'm your grandfather's nephew, I believe that makes us cousins of some sort."

Tim turned to his grandfather, "Grandpa, when I first met you, I had recently broken up with my girlfriend. It was a serious relationship but it ended. I think I told you that much but I don't think I ever mentioned her name, Delilah Fielding."

Mac was about to say all he remembered about Tim's love life from that day was the love bite on his back and he knew that was from Ellie. As he opened his mouth, he also remembered that Tim had walked in on the girlfriend, now he knew her name, Delilah, having sex with another man, and he snapped his mouth shut.

Liz and Claire returned with Eleni. Eleni held her arms out to go to Charlie and he greeted her with a kiss. "Tim, Ellie, kids, this is my daughter Eleni. Until today, we were a family of two. What do the other kids call you?"

Ellie smiled, "He's Uncle Tim and I'm Aunt Ellie."

"Oh Eleni, an aunty and an uncle!"

Eleni smiled, leaning forward from her Papa's arms to give kisses to Tim and Ellie. "Hi, Uncle Tim, Aunt Ellie, I Eleni!"

They welcomed her with hugs and she squealed, getting an answering squeal from Mackie.

Tyler and Brynie watched their parents closely while they swam. Ty thought everything was better now but his father still seemed a little upset. They decided to play dolphins and surprise him, he always laughed then. Swimming underwater, they surfaced next to their father and the new cousin, making their dolphin noises. Daddy smiled and softly squeed back at them. "Charlie, I know you met my two-legged children, now I'd like you to meet our dolphin children."

"Hi, dolphins! I'm Uncle Charlie."

Ty squeed at him before saying, "You're Eleni's father, Grandpa is your uncle and you are our cousin and Nonny's, too."

"Yes, that's right!"

Ty stood in the water, introducing himself the way he first learned from Sue and Deeny before he was two years old. Brynie followed him and Charlie shook their hands with a smile.

When they met Eleni, they looked at Uncle Charlie and then at their parents, deciding they probably shouldn't ask. In their experience, little kids like Eleni usually had another parent besides a Papa, which they knew was a 'dad' name as well as a 'grandfather' name. Maybe she was like them and Lia and her other parent or parents were in heaven.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Veterans' Day and a heartfelt thank you for your service!

Chapter Six

Uncles Dave and Jim were manning the grill that night. However, first someone needed to prepare the chicken. After a brief swim, Tim climbed out, shaking his head at Ty and Brynie who offered to help. "Thanks anyway, you two keep swimming."

Charlie stood up, "I'll help, Tim. It will give us time to catch up."

Ellie and Mac offered to watch Eleni and the two cooks took the ATV to the ranch house. Charlie chuckled as they reached the kitchen, "I don't know how much help I'll be, I don't know where anything is!"

Tim smiled, "That's all right, I'll get everything out and then you hand it to me while we talk." He paused, "I'll make a marinade in a big bowl and then bathe the chicken in that, we'll cover it and put in the refrigerator. Then I'll prep potatoes in foil for baking on the coals. And probably make a salad. Let's see, we have 43 at home, I think Pete is still on the road."

"Is that the mover?"

"Yes."

"Mac mentioned he's on the road this week. And Shannon and her husband aren't here."

Tim smiles. "I'm pretty sure they'll be here this evening. Mom doesn't like tent camping and Dad will know something's happening here."

"Shannon's your mother?"

"Yes, nobody told you?"

"Well yes, Mac mentioned you several times; I just didn't connect everything until now. You're the baby that was kidnapped?"

"Yes. I grew up believing my name was Tim McGee and that I was the son of the late Dan and Lily McGee. Do you know how Ty and Brynie came to me?"

"Not the usual way?"

Tim shook his head. "No. When I was in college…" While he worked, he told Charlie the story of his cancer scare and subsequent sperm donation. "Five years ago, two Navy lieutenants were murdered and…" Sue and Deeny's story came next followed by the children coming home with Tim, staying with Gibbs and reviewing the kids' DNA test results.

Charlie listened, his mouth dropping open. "Gibbs, your boss, the guy who sat with you at the hospital, he's your father?" Then he realized that's why the name Gibbs had sounded familiar!

"Yes. And if it weren't for the kids we might never have found out."

"Incredible."

Tim huffed, "One word for it. Ellie adopted Ty and Brynie before we were married; we adopted Lia as an infant, had Mackie, Henry arrived 6 weeks ago from an orphanage in Bacia. He's an American citizen and was evacuated with the other citizens. And we are expecting number 6 in January."

"Wow!"

"Yes. Ellie wanted 6 but said this is her last pregnancy. Henry's a perfect fit. Biologically he's my grandson. His birth parents are both morons. The birth father is biologically my son and about as obnoxious a kid as I've ever encountered. The mother is nearly as bad. Neil, the father, never told his family about Tiffany being pregnant. They had twins and took them to Bacia to adopt them out. Henry's twin sister was adopted by a European couple but poor Henry was abandoned and taken to an orphanage. He's doing very well, ranks at the top of his age group for development. It's evident he was loved and given plenty of attention at the home. We've been in touch with the Catholic nuns who cared for him and with the parents of his twin sister. We've had one Skype call with his twin and her dads, so at least the kids have been introduced, although they were pretty confused about having a sister or brother with different parents. They're planning on visiting here next year; we believe by that time the kids will be a little older and understand better."

"Poor kid! What a way to start, not unlike your story. And you'll have six kids, that's hard to imagine!"

"We're lucky so far, everyone's even tempered and they get along pretty well. Ty and Brynie are best friends, they argue sometimes, might sulk a little but unless they get loud, we let them sort it out. Our friends the Palmers brought baby Ricky home to foster shortly after we brought Lia home. Thankfully, they're best friends and they made instant friends with Henry. And we hope Mackie will be besties with his new brother or sister."

"You still write?"

Tim smiled, "I didn't know you knew that! Yes, Gemcity still publishes, the next book will be out in November. I'm also working on a children's series under a different pseudonym."

"How long have you been here, I mean all of you? Did you evacuate from DC or were you here before?"

"We owned the ranch before but all of us except Pete the mover and Ellie's folks lived in Metro DC. Yes, we evacuated. We had a pre-made shelter installed here and our older folks and those of us with kids flew out and the rest came via caravan with four moving trucks."

"That big caravan? I remember seeing that on the news!"

"Yes, the lead moving van was driven by our friend Pete."

Charlie shook his head and then watched Tim as he put the chicken in the marinade. He'd already cleared space in the refrigerator so the bowl slid right in. Next were the potatoes and salad.

As they worked, the two men talked about Delilah and her escalating problems. Tim had some insights into Delilah's behavior that he shared with Charlie, insights that Ducky had originally theorized. They made Charlie feel both better and worse, sorry he and Carol hadn't tried to be more understanding, had their own counseling or pushed their daughter to get more help. He was also hopeful that if Delilah would agree to more counseling, that she find some peace, all might not be lost.

While Tim hadn't thought about Delilah in years, it still felt good to be able to talk to someone else who understood. And for Charlie, it was a huge help, unburdening his soul to someone who'd known his daughter before and after and who had also suffered from her actions.

When Tim said that his own counselor told him that through Delilah's actions, he too had been a victim of Benham Parsa, Charlie gave into the tears that had been threatening since he drove onto the property, finally acknowledging the truth of that for himself, his wife and his little daughter along with the joy of being part of a family again, of knowing he wasn't alone. Remembering that awful feeling from his childhood, that he had no one in the world to love him, Tim wrapped his arms around him, holding on tightly.

When Ellie and the kids entered the house, with Mackie and Eleni sharing a double stroller and Uncle Jim pushing Lia and Henry in the triple, they found the two men quietly working together on their dinner. While their faces were clean, Ellie could see that they'd both been crying and thought the two were more at ease with each other.

Claire followed Jim into the house and they helped get the littles upstairs to change into dry clothes. Claire carried Eleni while Jim helped Henry, Tyler and Brynie helped Lia and Ellie carried Mackie. Charlie smiled as he watched Tim watch them until they reached the second floor.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter completes the story. I didn't cut anything, just merged two chapters. Enjoy!

Chapter Seven

Charlie jumped when he heard a baby cry. Or was it two babies? Tim chuckled, "That's my youngest niece and nephew, my sister Sarah's twins. Like us, they have a house of their own, I mean Sarah and her husband have a house, but Sarah's a writer and likes to work in the library here. Plus it's easier for the baby wranglers to have them all in one place during the day. You were probably in the pool last time they were awake. I hope you're staying in a guesthouse!"

"We have a hotel room; I didn't call Mac until we got to Albuquerque."

"Well, it's up to you, but we'd love to have you stay here on the ranch with us. We have rooms here in the house, we have furnished guesthouses or you're welcome to stay in the guestrooms in our home, Ellie's and mine."

Charlie opened his mouth to say something when a voice drifted in. "Tim, are you in the kitchen?"

"Yes, Sari, where are you?"

"On the back porch. Could you please heat 2 bottles of my milk?"

"Yeah, sure. Are you coming in?"

"I'm by myself right now, Uncle Dave helped move the three of us out here when I couldn't stand being inside anymore. But if you'll help, we're ready to come in."

Tim huffed, "Why didn't you just say so? I'll be right there."

He chuckled as he moved to the refrigerator and Charlie smiled back. Tim took a container of something marked "Sarah" and poured the liquid into two bottles. There was more crying and Charlie said, "Go help your sister, I can heat those."

"Thanks! Be back in a minute."

He left the kitchen and Charlie heard a door being opened. Tim quickly reappeared, carrying his little niece Charlotte Shannon, a large diaper bag hanging from his shoulder. "Charlie, this is Charlotte Shannon. She's named for our mom and our cousin Charlotte, who is Sarah's two-times great aunt and my paternal great-grandmother."

"I thought Sarah is your sister?"

"She is the daughter of Lily and Dan McGee, the people who bought me from Joann Fielding. Until 5 years ago, we believed we shared sibling DNA. Turns out we do share DNA but we're cousins, not siblings."

"Geesh! How do you keep all this straight in your head?"

Tim laughed, "We don't talk about it much and most of it happened gradually, not all at once. It really only comes up when we have to explain things to new family members like you. Although you're one of the originals. Anyway, we know we're family and that's all that matters."

When Sarah walked in with a still squalling Timmy, she and Timpa traded babies. Timmy stopped wailing long enough to inspect his new big person and gurgled at Tim. Sarah shook her head, "He sure likes his Uncle Tim!"

Tim grinned as he played with his namesake, "It's the name." He turned to Charlie, "Charlie, I'd like you to meet my sister Sarah McGee Chalmers. Sarah, our cousin Charlie Fielding, Grandpa's nephew. And he's brought us a new toddler to play with, his daughter Eleni."

Sarah greeted him with a finger wag as she was feeding Charlotte. "Hi Charlie, welcome to La Serenidad! I heard through the ranch grapevine that you were here but I've been housebound all day."

"Have you been writing all day?"

She snorted, "All day, what's that? I did get in about 90 minutes between doing laundry and catching a nap while babies slept."

"No helper today?"

"Lu was scheduled but she's fighting a cold; Liz was on yesterday and Claire the day before so I decided to be brave and mommy all by myself. Bob is on his way to Canada, they caught a case in Calgary, so I don't know when he or Tony will be home." She grimaced, "When are Mom and Dad coming home?"

Tim started to say something when the kitchen door opened and their mother walked in. Sarah and Tim cheered, "Yay, Mommy's home!"

Shannon laughed, "Mommy, really?" Spotting Charlie, she smiled, "Hello?"

"Mom, this is your cousin Charlie Fielding, Grandpa's nephew. Charlie, your cousin Shannon."

Charlie smiled at her obvious confusion, "I was ten when you were born, Shannon. The only time we met you were still a baby."

"Thanks, good to know I haven't lost my memory. Welcome to La Serenidad!"

They shook hands as Jethro walked in, carrying their bags. "Hey, Timson, Sari! And cuter than ever grandbabies!" Puzzled, he stopped to look at the newcomer. "Do we know each other?"

Tim cut in, "Yes, Dad. This is Charlie Fielding, Grandpa's nephew. Although years ago, we knew him as Delilah's father."

Sarah was glad she had her face down, watching her daughter eat. She still felt bad that Tim hadn't been told before he got home.

Shannon wasn't lucky enough to be looking down but she managed to quickly school her expression into something approaching neutral. Dad didn't even try; his eyebrows flew up and he looked at his son who gave him a look that said something was off but not between Tim and Charlie.

"Charlie, good to see you again." The two shook hands.

Charlie nodded, "You too, Gibbs, and Tim. I was certainly shocked when Mac introduced us, I looked up and there was Tim McGee!"

Tim nodded solemnly, "Wish everyone could have met Carol, too. So glad you have little Eleni." He turned toward his parents and sister. "Charlie's daughter Eleni is 18 months old and is the product of both egg and sperm donors. She's upstairs with Ellie, Claire, Jim and my gang, changing into dry clothes. Carol and Charlie were given custody when she was 4 months old, after her mother, Delilah, decided she couldn't handle a small child. They raised her together until Carol died suddenly."

Jethro thought of Tim learning this and wanted to comfort him.

His wife squeezed his hand while Sarah covered for both of them, "That's terrible, Charlie, I'm so sorry for your loss. Thank God you and Eleni have each other."

Tim nodded, "And all of us now."

"Thanks, Sarah, Tim. We have a live-in nanny and we've been doing all right. Until I realized that if anything happened to me, Eleni would end up in foster care. I haven't kept up with the Fielding family. Joined the Marines at 18, got married, had a baby, got my 20 in and somehow my wife's family took over what little spare time we had. Told myself it was good for my daughter to have at least one grandparent.

"Anyway, recently I started looking online for Fieldings. I can use Google but that's about it. Found obituaries for my dad Fergus' two younger brothers, went looking for a cousin and gave up at the thousands of pages for "Jack Fielding". Finally started looking for Uncle Mac and found the article about his ex-wife. Sorry all that happened and Shannon, Mac's told me what she did to you and Tim. Horrible, I'm so sorry all that happened and so grateful that you all have found your way to each other. I found a reference to the ranch online and through some miracle, I have no idea what I did but I found a list of owners and there was Uncle Mac and my baby cousin Shannon.

"I was going to call first but was afraid that the media might have been hounding you and didn't want anyone to think that's who I was. And something happened between my mother and your mother; the time I met you was the last time we attended a family gathering. I never knew what the problem was and just decided to wing it. Turns out that Aunt Jo is the reason we didn't know each other.

"So here we are, Eleni and I drove over from Sedona this morning and I called Uncle Mac from our hotel room."

Tim laid his hand on his shoulder, "Glad you're here!" He turned to his parents, leaving his hand. "Liz thought Grandpa knew about Delilah and thought he would tell Charlie about me. Sarah called Tony at work, asking him to tell me but then he and the team got a call out to Calgary, so he didn't have time to call me. He did send a text to Maggie telling her about the case and asking her to call Sarah but Maggie was in meetings all afternoon and didn't see the text until she'd left the office. Since she didn't know what happened, she decided to wait to talk with Sarah when she got home. By then, Charlie and I had already seen each other."

Shannon frowned, not liking that at all but understanding how the communication had broken down. She did wonder why no one had called Tim or Ellie directly. She looked at Charlie, "Did you know that my dad's grandson Tim was the man you knew through your daughter?"

"No, Shannon, I didn't know until Mac introduced us and then we both stared at each other, our mouths hanging open. Liz did apologize to us and Mac later. As Tim said, she thought Uncle Mac knew and expected him to say something to me. Guess he didn't."

Tim made a face, "That's because he'd never heard her name. By the time I met Grandpa for the first time, I had already moved on. I told him what happened but never mentioned the name."

Shannon's face cleared and Charlie smiled at Tim, "That's all right. It's all good now."

Tony's father-in-law, entered the kitchen then, smiling at Charlie. "Charlie, it is you! Dick Barnes, we served together at…" Barnes named two Marine bases. His smile grew wider when Charlie nodded, "Dick Barnes, yes, it's great to see you! An amazingly small world we live in."

The two men reached to shake hands and ended up in a one armed hug. Barnes eventually replied to Charlie's last remark, "It certainly is, never thought I'd be living on a ranch in New Mexico, part of a very large family! Welcome home, old friend!"

As he enjoyed his dinner that evening, Charlie reflected that he'd decided to look up his relatives and ended up as part of a large, loving family and friends. He'd gained his Uncle Mac, his cousin Shannon, his almost son-in-law Tim, his old friend Dick Barnes and all of their families.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Charlie and Eleni Fielding's visit was so successful that they never returned to Arizona to live. Once Eleni was comfortable with the adults and children, Charlie left her with the Palmers while he returned to Sedona long enough to sell most of his furniture, storing everything else and putting his house on the market before flying home to the ranch. The next time Pete the mover had a run into Arizona, he loaded up the contents of Charlie's storage unit, delivering it to the ranch.

Surrounded by family and friends, Charlie and Eleni had truly found their forever home.

The End!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next story in this 'verse is titled "Progeny", which I will start posting, fingers crossed, by the end of this month. Possibly sooner but it needs work before it goes 'live'. And there will be 1 more story in this 'verse after that. I originally said 2 (or 3?) new ones but then 'Heartbreak' happened, so there will be 4 by the time I'm finished.
> 
> Thanks for coming along to discover why there are two characters named Fielding on the show, to meet Charlie and Eleni and to take a peek into what's happening at the ranch. 
> 
> ENJOY THE PREMIER OF SEASON 18 OF OUR BELOVED SHOW, NCIS, AIRING TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2020 IN THE U.S. DON'T KNOW ABOUT CANADA, GOOGLE WASN'T VERY HELPFUL.


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